ICReland

I wanted to do a trip in before year’s end.  Alex (Pancakes) had just gotten into grad school for behavioral analysis so I knew he’d want to travel before it started in September.  Eric said he was down and there we had our travel group.  We thought about going to Thailand and Southeast Asia but Cakes thought it’d be too hot during August.  Iceland apparently is the cool spot to go these days and it appealed to all of us – admittedly more to Cakes and Eric than to me.  Since the UK is only 2 hours east of Iceland, we decided to also swing by Ireland.  That’s how this all came to fruition.  And despite my initial hesitation about Iceland, I ended up really enjoying it.  It’s a beautiful country (read about that here).  Ireland, you’re alright too.

8/5/18 ~9:30PM
LAX, 1 hour 20 minutes from departure and I’m so terribly hungover.  What a way to start a trip.  Luckily, I think I’m turning the corner thanks to Pinkberry and a couple Advil.

Time difference in Iceland…they’re 7 hours ahead.  Iceland is 8.  It’ll take 9 hours to get get to Iceland and 2 more from Iceland to Ireland.

My friends think I’m OCD.

~11:30PM – airborne 
I’m convinced our flight attendant is a Targaryen.  Her hair is a white blonde I’ve only seen on Daenerys and her brother.

Yes, I felt like a major creeper taking this picture.

8/6/18 2:30PM – Keflavik Airport, Iceland
Our first hiccup of the trip.  Our rental car isn’t ready.  Should’ve been 2 hours ago so we’re passing time with Mario Kart on the Switch and Connect 4.

~5:00PM
Made it to our Airbnb!  For our troubles, AVIS gave us a map of Iceland. 🤦🏻‍♂️  I tried to convince them to give us free wifi and a tank of gas but they wouldn’t budge.  Oh, we also got a gas station card worth 10% off purchases and free coffee.  That’ll be somewhat nice.

Iceland feels barren.  The towns here are small, practical.  The roads are long with nothing but mountains, fields, and livestock along them.

10:26PM

Why does Europe make life so difficult for Americans?

Seljalandsfoss was neat but after seeing Iguazu Falls in Argentina, everything else pales in comparison.  I put Seljalandsfoss on my Instagram story and my co-worker said it looked like I just put a bunch of random letters together LOL.

Trying to get that perfect profile picture.

Wet walk behind the waterfall.

Iceland isn’t known for their food other than that it’s expensive.  $20 burger, $25 lamb soup.

We have a long hike to Þorsmork tomorrow. The “Þ” is pronounced like “th”, Thorsmork, which means Valley of Thor.  It’s almost 11PM and it’s time to sleep but the sun is still up.

Going through our fresh batch of bagels together.  This was hilarious and ended up being a nightly ritual.  Eric has terrible taste in women. 

8/7/18
Wow, Þorsmork.  It was a long, tiring, 6 hour hike with breathtaking views and windy as hell.  We’re on the way home in a coach bus fixed-up for off-roading and river crossings.  It’s a bumpy ride.  My vestibular system can’t handle this.  I’m going to sleep.

   

  

8/8/18 11:10AM
15 people jammed into this van for a bumpy off-road ride to an ice cave under Katla, one of Iceland’s active volcanos.  I don’t know how but I sleep well on these off-road treks.

1:18PM
So the volcano is actually under a glacier that I thought was a mountain until I saw parts of it dripping, melting away.  The glacier has been receding since the last Ice Age.  The biggest threat of a volcanic eruption is the massive amount of glacial water that will melt and flood nearby cities.  The last Katla eruption was 1918 and it erupts roughly every 80 years, so it’s due.

This is the glacier covering Katla, looks like a mountain right?!

  

  
Inside the glacial cave.

5:26PM
Cakes and I raced up Skogafoss.  I gave him a 30-second head start and lost by a second or two.  My lungs are dying.  Our next stop at the Secret Lagoon (a hot spring) is much needed.

It looked like I could beat him…

That night at the Secret Lagoon, we met a couple really cool people from Virginia, Kayla – the girl with the giraffe tattoo, and Matt – who couldn’t tell us what he did for a living, just that he worked for the government.  It innocently started with a few beers and bottles of wine at the lagoon but ended up as one of the wildest nights in my life.  All I can say is that it involved our two new friends, a lot of alcohol, and a lot of blood.  In true Hangover fashion, the night ended with Matt deleting Kayla’s phone.  He also told us that if we talked to the cops, he was never with us.

We’re calling it Hangover Iceland and from the words of my good friend Tom Hong…

“If they made Hangover 4 and based it on their story, it would be the BEST Hangover for sure.”

8/9/18
Death day #2.  I spent the entire day so terribly hungover as we drove the Golden Circle and visited Þingvellir, Geysir, and Gulfoss.  It was beautiful and despite feeling like death, still a hilariously awesome time with Cakes and Eric.

Þingvellir

Silfra at Þingvellir, the only place in the world you can dive between two tectonic plates.  We didn’t do it though.  The water is around 35 degrees Fahrenheit.

Yep, the entire day.

   

This might’ve been the funniest moment of the trip.  We noticed the name of the geysir (lol) and when it erupted and blew this out, we laughed so hard.  The people around us must’ve thought we were crazy.

Gulfoss

8/10/18 6:00AM
I’m recovered.  And looking for a bottomless mimosa spot.  I would.

9:00PM

We went to the Blue Lagoon after meeting up with Kayla and Matt for brunch.  The Blue Lagoon is Iceland’s most famous tourist attraction but definitely a trap.  It looks like that picture but with probably 3x the amount of people.  The Blue Lagoon costs $100 to enter.  The Secret Lagoon, $30.  There is a 3 drink maximum at the Blue Lagoon.  There is no maximum at the Secret Lagoon and they sell bottles of wine.  The Secret Lagoon has pool noodles which sounds silly but was actually super clutch cause we were able to lay back and chill instead of standing/walking.  Don’t go to the Blue Lagoon.  Go to the Secret Lagoon.

8/11/18 4:00AM

9:37AM
Here we come, Ireland.  Strutting in like McGregor.

Actually, not really, none of us slept well last night and just passed out on the flight so we’re now half awake and will probably drag our feet into Iceland once this WOW plane lands in 10 minutes.

First stop, brunch and bottomless mimosas!  Perks of being in charge of the the itinerary.

11:47AM
“I know it’s English but y’all need to speak a little slower or I won’t be able to understand a thing you’re saying.” -Cakes about the Irish.

8/12/18 6:08PM
Just woke up from a disco nap.  It’s our last night in Dublin and we have 2 more in Ireland after tonight.  How did this trip pass so quickly?

We stumbled into a delicious Boojum yesterday, basically Ireland’s Chipotle, and picked it up again for dinner tonight.  We also found a Nando’s, apparently Kanye’s favorite grilled chicken spot.  Food in Dublin > food in Ireland.

   

At night, we explored Temple Bar, kinda like Ireland’s Bourbon Street.  It was poppin’.  We came across a hanging bar challenge – hang for 100 seconds and win 100 Euros.  The catch is that the bar isn’t fixed.  It’ll rotate as your hands rotate making it much more difficult.  Cakes and I had a sidebet of 60 seconds.  He failed miserably.

When in Ireland…

   

Eric went back to the hostel while Cakes and I found a club having its Latin night.  Perfect.  Until it wasn’t.  I don’t know what it was but Pancakes was on fire and it was just not happening for me.  I couldn’t even look at a girl without her slowly dancing away.  So Cakes is talking to another girl, this one from Latvia.  Luckily she’s with her male friend from Bolivia.  We think he’s gay.  I’m playing wingman, Cakes is doing well (we think) until he buys a round of drinks and I turn around and see the Latvian girl making out with her Bolivian friend.  We think it might’ve been on purpose to get rid of us.  If it was, it worked cause we called it a night after that.

We did the Guinness Storehouse this morning.  Tours are tough when you’re hungover.  Cakes and I walked through the majority of Guinness eager to get to the end while Eric complained that he felt rushed the entire time.  He’s never been on a tour hungover.  He doesn’t understand.

I have friends (Grace) who would dispute this fact.

Guinness penguins!!!

   
Pouring that perfect pint of Guinness.

We did Kilmainham Gaol afterwards, Ireland’s famous former prison.  Our tour guide was a little too enthusiastic and he spoke a little too much but it’s a tour so I guess I should expect that.  Kilmainham Gaol was one of the first reform prisons, one of the first to keep inmates in separate cells.  Most prisons at the time kept inmates in a common area which led to more crime and violence.  Kilmainham Gaol hoped that by separating prisoners and prohibiting them from talking to each other, the prisoners would reflect on their crimes and come out as better people.

   

We went to Jameson Distillery.  We were sick of listening to someone talk so we grabbed drinks at the bar instead.  There are some yummy whiskeys here that aren’t sold in the States.  I found one to bring home. 🙂

   

   

So we heard about the Gaelic football semi-finals game at Croke Park last night but by the time we get there, the game’s already started and we can’t buy tickets anymore.  There are a couple scalpers at a street corner who offer us premium seats for 60 euros each.  We haggle it down to 40 euros.  It was shady as hell.  We thought we got scammed.  One of the tickets was already ripped.  But they all worked, we all got in, and the match was a good one.  Gaelic football is weird but splendidly exciting.  It comes aspects of many different sports.  Every 5 steps you take, you have to dribble or kick or get rid of the ball.  You can only pass the ball with your hands by striking it like a volleyball.  There’s a goal like soccer and uprights like rugby.  A goal is 3 points, splitting the uprights is 1.  Just explaining the rules gives me a headache.  Imagine playing it.

   

Okay. Boojum, Jameson, party.

8/13/18 – sometime in the morning
Hangover – 2, Andre – 2.  I’m getting the hang of this thing.  I just gotta eat and drink a ton of water before I pass out.  I still feel it today and I felt it yesterday too, but it’s definitely not the death it was at LAX or after Hangover Iceland.

We took a train to Galway and we’re now waiting for our bus to Doolin.  None of us slept very much last night, maybe 4 hours.  We met a few dudes at our hostel: Stas – Singaporean DJ of Rave Republic born in Australia, Good John from Reykjavík (his name is Icelandic and sounds like Good John, no one could pronounce his actual name), Matt – neuroscientist from Canada who I nerded out with, and Henrick from Germany who danced like a robot to EDM.  We drank a ton before going out.  Cakes and I were tired so we gave them the Irish goodbye (leaving without saying bye) and snuck off to a Papa Johns/burger spot before turning in.  I got into a bit of trouble, nothing serious.  Just got angry because a worker there wouldn’t refill my Sprite.  He swiped my cup to the floor when I snuck behind the counter to do it myself so I drunkenly and angrily swiped napkin dispensers off tables as I left the restaurant.  He should’ve refilled my Sprite.  That’s free in the States.

   

   
Hehe, Pancakes saw me.

11:04PM
Okay, I spoke too soon.  Hangover – 3, Andre – 1.  The bus from Galway to Doolin was windy as hell and I didn’t handle it well.  I was dying.  I must’ve spent 3-4 days of this trip feeling like death. 🤦🏻‍♂️

We hiked to the Cliffs of Moher.  The fresh air helped.  It was beautiful.  Harry Potter fans, this was where the horcrux cave was filmed.

I’m finally feeling alive again.  Looking forward to a good night sleep.

The bus driver pulled over for a view point.  I ran outside, puked, and took this picture.

Small town of Doolin.

8/14/18 ~10:30AM
We nearly missed our ferry this morning because we all took a Xanax last night and thought someone had set their alarm when no one actually did.  Slept for over 9 hours.  The only reason we made our ferry was cause we asked a fisherman to take us to the pier a mile away in his van.  He laughed at us and agreed.  Thank goodness for the kindness of the Irish.

12:38AM
Made it to Inishmore of the Aran Islands.

Fuck winding drives, fuck choppy ferry rides.  I could do without either for the rest of my life.  My vestibular system hates me right now.  I need Dramamine.

It was really coming down earlier.  We’re all dryer and feeling better.  I miss my cats, I miss my bed, and I miss 90 degree weather in SoCal.

4:51PM
We’re on the ferry to Rossveal.  It’s a 45-minute ferry followed by a 45-minute bus ride to Galway.  This ferry is faster.  We saw it on the way here, looked less choppy.  Eric’s death day came today.  He got woozy from the ferry, surprising considering he never gets motion sick.  Then the bike ride almost killed him, not as surprising considering it was his first time really riding a bike.  He made it but his legs were shot by the end of it.

Our bike ride went to Dun Aonghasa (Aengus), a prehistoric fort and that’s really all I remember about it.  It was pretty but we were really bad about learning the history behind it – at least Cakes and I were.  Eric probably did better.

Don’t push me down, okay?

8/15/18 12:18AM
The ferry back was okay.  The bus to Galway, also okay.  Even got some sleep on both trips.  Galway, it’s a busy little town.  Feels like walking down 3rd St. Santa Monica minus the bougee-ness and with a lot more pubs.

We’re packed.  The bus station is 2 minutes away from our hostel.  We all have our alarms set.  We’re ready to go home.

11:34AM
We’re on the way to Reykjavík.  Going to pick up a bottle of Brennivin for the boys during our 2-3? hour layover.  Brennivin is Iceland’s signature liquor, a 37.5% schnapps that tastes like a mixture of gin and soju.  It’s nickname is Black Death and it’s really good.

Almost home.

2:29PM PST
5 1/2 hours into this 8-9 hour flight and my ass is starting to feel it.  Eric is deep into his nap.  He’s taking up both armrests, falling everywhere.  The stranger to his right hates him.  He’s so terrible to sit next to.

5:03PM
We’re close to landing.  We’re going to be home early.  I have a weeks worth of music to catch up to.  Looking forward to that, unpacking, and cleaning tomorrow.

The Boys, Belize and Cancun

Those who know me well know that I love alcohol and Latinas.  So for years, I’ve been trying to convince my friends to go on an all-inclusive Cabo/Cancun spring break trip…to no avail.  Well, a couple years ago, my friend Tom left the States (again) to teach in Korea.  Before he left, he promised to come back within a year or he would go with me on a trip of my choosing.  Thankfully, he took nearly 2 years to come home.  With his promise and with my 30th birthday around the corner, I had enough sway to convince Tom and Eric to take a trip to Belize, and 3 of our other boys (Ursa, Henry, and Ben) to join us in Cancun.  7 days in Belize, 4 days at an all-inclusive resort in Cancun in the midst of spring break.  Ah :).  Our stories and my thoughts are transcribed below, taken from my trusty travel journal and accompanied with pictures, videos, links, and post-trip commentary.  Enjoy.

3/23/17 10:44PM
And here we go…Belize and Cancun.  Been waiting and planning for this day for a long time.  We have a 5 hour flight to San Salvador, a 1.5 hour flight to Belize City, and the fun begins.

Our gnarly itinerary.

3/24/17 6:52AM
We’re here at San Salvador Airport in El Salvador.  What is El Salvador known for?  Pupusas, according to Eric.  Well, the pupusas at the aeropuerto are terrible.  The El Salvadorian cerveza, Pilsener, on the other hand…not bad.  We fly for Belize City at 8:45.  See you on the other side.

9:55AM
Belize!

12:33PM
On our way to jungle ATV, cave tubing at Nohoch Che’en and unlimited rum punch! 🙂  According to our driver, Rojilio, there are 8 traffic lights in Belize…and none of them work.  Traffic works damn well considering that it’s pretty much self regulated.

Bits of information about Belize from Rojilio…
– Liquor of choice – Belizean rum
– National tree – mahogany tree
– National bird – toucan, the Froot Loops bird!

– National animal – tapir, aka mountain cow

Kinda looks like an anteater.

4:42PM
Jungle ATV, much harder than it seems and a lot of fun.  Cave tubing, exactly what it seems and mildly fun.  Sit in a tube, float through a cave.  Takeaway of the day – the Spivo Stick is a terrible selfie stick.  What kind of selfie stick doesn’t have a button to take pictures?!  Props to them, I fell for their well-made commercial.  Surprise of the day – the minty taste of a termite.  Yum.

Termite snack.

What we think of the Spivo Stick.

5:45PM
Wondering how many gold medals Belize has won…none.  Belize hasn’t even medaled but it sends a handful of athletes to each Olympics.

10:22PM
R.I.P. UCLA.  Hard to watch.  Better luck next year?  Doubt it.
UCLA basketball lost to Kentucky 86-75 in the Sweet 16 and is losing their top 4 scorers this season.

The habanero sauce and spicy pickled vegetables here are no joke.  Reminder to err on the side of less for the rest of the trip.  Failed miserably.


At Ko-ox han-nah, “let’s go eat” in Mayan.  That blue water bottle is filled with tequila.

The xx coming through the headphones to drown out Tom’s snoring.  Love their new album.

The xx – I Dare You
I’m on a different kind of high
A rush of blood is not enough
I need my feelings set on fire

Eric is clearly ready.

3/25/17 4:36PM
Spelunking through Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM, translated to Cave of the Stone Sepulcher) was something else.  Cameras aren’t allowed in the cave because tourists in the past dropped cameras and broke skeletons and artifacts.  But take my word, the place was damn beautiful.

It took a 45 minute hike through the jungle with a couple river crossings, not easy swimming with shoes, to reach the cave entrance.  The water there, a pristine teal with schools of fish.  The trek through the cave went along and through river systems, under and over rocks, and through rock slits so narrow that only our necks could pass.  Stalagmites grew from the ground and stalactites hung from the ceilings.  The journey reached a vast cavern where the Mayans gathered for ceremonies and sacrifices.  Here, the stalagmites and stalactites were carved into shapes that cast shadows of animals and gods on cave walls with proper lighting.  Pots and skulls were strewn along our path.  At the end of the cave, the Crystal Maiden, the skeleton of an adolescent sacrificed to the Mayan gods. 

Burn of the trip so far came after our trek through ATM.  Tom told one of the kids from our group that the three of us were brothers and asked him to guess who were the oldest.  The boy said Eric, followed by me.  Tom happily told the kid that it was because he drank from the fountain of youth.  My reply, “How many calories are in that fountain of youth?” 😛

6:37PM
The drinks here…I ordered a cherry pop last night and a panty ripper tonight.  Pre-gaming for Cancun, right?

Words to live by from Belikin, beer of Belize.

The best tasting beer in Belize though, Lighthouse Lager.

Tom, at his finest.

We’re shuttling out of San Ignacio tomorrow morning, bright and early at 5:45AM, taking a ferry to Caye Caulker, checking in to our Airbnb, and taking another ferry to Ambergris Caye.  All for bottomless mimosas.  What else would you expect from me? 🙂

3/26/17 10:01PM
Caye Caulker.  Caye pronounced Key.  British for key as Belize was a British colony called British Honduras before it became an independent country.  Saw a stamp of this at our ferry terminal this morning.

Queen Elizabeth is on many of the Belizean coins and bills.  

Caye Caulker is chill.  “Go slow.”  That’s what the natives say here.  Reminds me of the Chinese saying, “walk slow”.  The other saying here…”No shirt, no shoes, no problem.”  Everything’s walkable on the island.  Dirt roads, no cars.  Just golf carts.  A 45 minute ferry ride north of Caye Caulker is Ambergris Caye.  Larger and much busier.  Roads, cars, a couple resorts, and tons of stores.  It has a bit of a Maui feel to it, especially where we went for mimosas.

Mimosas, by the way, were underwhelming but mimosas nonetheless.  The champagne to OJ ratio was horribly low and our server refused to add champagne.  Terrible service.

Caye Caulker


Ambergris Caye

Mimosas, and the aftermath.

We’re staying at an Airbnb owned by Pam, a woman from Seattle, and built by Kennedy, an African-American native of Belize.  They are…friends with benefits who live together?  I think so.  When Pam moved to Caye Caulker 6 years ago, she was friends with a man who became possessive over her, to the point that she became frightened.  Kennedy became a sort of bodyguard for Pam.  Kennedy is weird.  We met him a couple hours ago.  He had Ip Man on, rambled on about martial arts, and shadowboxed us.  Might’ve been drunk.  Pam and Kennedy live upstairs.  Our room, downstairs, is named Sarita’s room, after Kennedy’s only daughter who passed away.  Is Pam returning the favor and taking care of Kennedy now?

Our Airbnb

Us, Pam, and Kennedy

Spanky and Tanga

Grocery stores here are all owned and run by the Chinese.  There are also a number of Chinese restaurants.  Eric looked up this Chinese/Belize relationship and found out that Belize offered citizenship for $25,000 USD in the 1980’s.  Chinese immigrants used this as a stepping stone for US citizenship to get around harsher immigration policies against China.  When the States caught wind of this and tightened their visa requirements for Belize, some of the Chinese stayed in Belize rather than going back to China.  Why do they run all the grocery stores?  Tom thinks it’s because all the stuff is made in China, making them easier to freight here.  But this has to be related to social interactions.  An ethnic group establishes a niche in the economy and makes it easier for future members of the group to succeed in the same industry.  Same reason why Indians run convenience stores and why Koreans run dry cleaners.

It’s hot here.  And Pam didn’t give us the remote for our AC.  Is there an app for that?  Yes, but it requires an infrared phone attachment.  She’s asking for $12/day to use the AC.  I guess we should attempt getting through tonight before asking for it.  We’ll cross that bridge tomorrow.  Never did, made it without AC.

3/27/17 7:19AM
Happy 30 to me 🙂

6AM workout and Tom is dead.  Passed out on the floor in front of the fan.  This Airbnb…no AC, horribly low water pressure, hand washing and hang drying our clothes.  It’s not what we’re used to but it feels like we’re living and experiencing this Caye Caulker life rather than just traveling here.  Full day of snorkeling ahead of us – Shark and Ray Alley, Hol Chan Marine Reserve, and the Coral Gardens.

As we’re walking to the snorkel shop, a guy on his golf cart stops next to us, starts to turn around and says, “Shit.”  I ask him what he forgot and he replies, “My virginity.”

9:05PM
Go slow.  They really aren’t kidding.  It took Tom 10 minutes to get a slice of cake and 25 minutes for a street side burger.

We got back to our Airbnb just in time to hear Kennedy berating Pam.  Sounded like he was upset about her talking to other men.  Pam must feel like her life is on repeat.  I can relate.

By the way, the wifi network here is “pamdingo”.  Make of that what you will.

Snorkeling…saw some massive nurse sharks and stingrays.  The same rays as the one that killed Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter.  Stabbed him through the heart with its barb.  Of course, they told us this afterwards.  We all got nicely sizzled.  Hopefully this’ll turn into a beautiful tan by the time Cancun rolls around.  All the hard work I put into my Cancun bod, gone in 4 days of vacation.

Tom and Eric are arguing about how much bed they take up at night.  Cute.

3/28/17 8:09PM

Tom has literally been singing Moana the entire trip.  This song in particular.

Caught a beautiful sunrise this morning.  Then went for a short run up and down the island.  Is this the beginning of my marathon training?

Saw a 7 foot eel, a hawkbill turtle, and a nurse shark on our dives today.  Everything looks blue-green underwater, distorted by the color of the ocean.  There are red filters for underwater cameras to correct for this.  I wonder how marine life would look with them on.

Like this.

Super early 5:15AM meet time tomorrow for the Blue Hole.  This is what we came for.

A sinkhole 43 miles off the coast of Belize, measuring over 300m across and 108m deep.

3/29/17 9:31PM
Made it through a seasickness scare to go on a couple of the most awe-inspiring dives I’ve ever been on.  Diving over the edge of the Blue Hole felt like swimming off a cliff into a bottomless pit.  The coral from our next dive, Half Moon Caye…it felt like swimming next to mountains.  Truly something else.

Looking down the Great Blue Hole.

     

I went down with 2 pounds of weight on my final dive.  Because humans are naturally buoyant, divers wear weight in order to sink and dive.  To put this in perspective, Eric used 16 pound and Tom used 12 pounds.  No wonder I’m such a bad swimmer.

Quick scare today.  Tom took a picture with my GoPro on our last dive, forgot he was holding onto it, and lost it in the ocean.  We got onto the boat without the camera.  Luckily, a diver behind us, Sam, saw it floating in the ocean and scooped it up.  On the boat ride home, a gust of wind blew away Sam’s hat.  A diver in the back of the boat caught it with her foot.  Coincidence?  Or karma?  We ran into Sam back on the island and took him out for drinks and dinner.  27 year old lobster fisherman from Maine.  Also met Miguel, 21 year old bartender, all 4’10” of him.  Generous enough to share some island grass with us.  Pretty cool dudes.

This was the calm before the storm.  Cancun, tomorrow.

Sam.  Found my GoPro, took a selfie.

Last sunset in Belize.

3/30/17 9:43AM, Belize Airport
We fly out at 10:30, board at 10AM.  Belize was real.  Felt the island vibes from Caye Caulker.  Respect.

Looking forward to seeing the guys in Cancun.  Happy bachelor party Henry!

10:27AM
This is the smallest plane I’ve ever been on.  6 passengers on this flight along with the pilot and co-pilot.  The plane can’t be much longer than 25 feet.

Afternoon
Cancun.  Greeted us with champagne and a minibar in our room.  We stopped by a cafe, I pointed at a sandwich and they gave it to me.  I feel like royalty.  Also like a fat kid in a candy store where everything is free.

Riu Palace Las Americas

Ridiculous drinking games at night.  We had plans to hit the bars in Cancun but ended up passing out at 10PM.

3/31/17 7:51AM
All the boys are here after Ben got in around midnight.  We’re outside the entrance of Chichen Itza, waiting for it to open at 8AM.  Our tour guide Jerry, is part Mayan, part Mexican, and 1/4 Cantonese.  He calls us primos, cousins in Spanish, not only because he’s a quarter Asian but also because Hispanics and Asians have common ancestors and share physical traits like the shape of our teeth and the presence of a Mongolian spot in infants.  Mongolian spot – a perfect purple circle the size of a half dollar, looks like a bruise.  In most cases, the spot disappears as the infant grows up.  I still have mine on my left butt cheek.

10:15AM
So glad we avoided the crowd and as much of the heat as possible at Chichen Itza.  The highlight of our tour was a cold wet towel at the end if it.  And learning about the history behind Chichen Itza and the Mayans.  Some of the things we saw and learned were almost unbelievable considering that the Mayans lived over 1000 years ago.  Mayan civilization began ~2000 B.C. and lasted until ~1500 A.D.  The Mayans believed in many gods.  They obsessively worshiped one Kukulkan, the feathered serpent (kukul – feathered, kan – serpent) who they believed carried the sun around the earth.  His head is at the base of El Castillo (the castle), the most prominent structure at Chichen Itza.  There are 4 ramps on each side of the pyramid, 91 steps each, leading to a platform at the top.  91×4 = 364, 364 steps + 1 platform = 365 days a year.  The Mayans built El Castillo so that twice a year, each spring and winter solstice, a shadow is cast along the side of the steps resembling the body of Kukulkan.  Imagine the math and manpower needed to accomplish this.  Unbelievable.  So much so that some people, my dad included, truly believe that aliens built El Castillo and Chichen Itza.

Off to the cenotes.

El Castillo with a full-bodied Kulkulcan.

Another amazing thing about El Castillo is that the steps were designed acoustically so that if you clap from a distance, the sound of a bird reverberates.  See above.

Cancun.  In Mayan, kan – serpent, kun – nest.  Nest of snakes.

3:27PM
Cenotes Samula and Ikkil, sinkholes.  So, so stunningly beautiful.  Samula, an underground cavern lined with stalactites, a clear turquoise pond nestled at the bottom.  Ikkil, an open cenote with greenery along its walls, water falling from the top of the sinkhole into the murky green water below.  It amazes me what nature can create.  And seeing these creations of nature is one of the reasons why I love traveling.  These cenotes, the Blue Hole, Jellyfish Lake, Iguazu Falls…the list goes on and on.  Such beauty.

Cenote Samula

Cenote Ikkil

At Ikkil, there is a ledge about 30 feet high to jump from into the water.  Tom jumped in with his NoPro on his head.  Tom bought a knock-off GoPro for this trip and we called it a NoPro.  The impact of the water knocked the camera off his head and into the murky water.  The lifeguard told us the sinkhole is 12-14 meters deep with very low visibility.  He went in with a mask and fins anyway.  Found the NoPro hanging on a rock 10 meters down.  Lucky Tom.  Theme of this trip – “omg lost it…but actually not”.  I thought I lost my GoPro in the ocean, Eric thought he lost his wallet 2-3 times, and there were a couple more of these “oh shit” moments.

Lifeguard saved Tom’s NoPro.

With Jerry.

9:53PM
Goodnight Cancun before 10PM.  Been feeling slightly under the weather the entire day.  I think the alcohol and the sun are finally getting to me.  Dehydration setting in.  I’m force feeding myself a bottle of water before sleeping.  Early day at Isla Mujeres tomorrow and a late night in party corner Cancun.  Should be a beautiful shitshow.

12:54PM
Saturday shitshow part 1 – snorkeling and diving at Isla Mujeres.  Rough currents.  Man, almost the entire boat got seasick.  I get back on the boat after the dive and Ben has his head in his heads, Ursa eyes are blank like he’s stoned, Henry’s looking down, the daughter from the other group is hurling over the side of the boat, and the mother is lying down passed out.  From our group, everyone except Echang got sick.  Ben had it the worst.  Ben from the Rocking Dead (we make fun of him for looking like Glenn from the Walking Dead).

Ben and Glenn

Half an hour before our ferry back to Hotel Zone.  It feels good to be on land.  I’m literally and figuratively sick of the ocean.  Time to rest, recover, and get ready for shitshow part 2.

6:52PM
Rested and recovered.  Nap was on point and much needed.

PLS&TY – Good Vibes feat. Cosmos & Creature
I’m feeling all the good vibes
I’m getting every green light.

We signed up for a bar/club crawl.  $80 a head for entry to 3 venues in party zone Cancun, table service, and all you can drink.  10:30PM-3AM.  This was our only night out together in Cancun so we were going to go hard.  And we did, for a good hour and a half.  By our 2nd stop, we started sitting, the music sounded like monotonous pounding, and the drinks tasted like rubbing alcohol.  Half of us went back to the hotel during our last stop, around 2AM.  Ursa, Tom, and I rallied.  We drank a ton more, stayed till the club closed, wandered the streets of Cancun, drunkenly made new friends, satisfied our drunchies with street tacos, and got back to the hotel around 5:30AM.

4/2/17 5:35AM
And the debauchery is done.  I’m still alive, I’m not in jail, not in a hospital, and I didn’t get anyone pregnant.  My parents will be proud.

Cancun, I’m not even sure what to say.  You are the Mexican Vegas I expected and so much more.  I wasn’t prepared.  And although I had a ton of fun, I want to do this again and do it bigger.

10:53AM
Vacation withdrawal already setting in.

One last bottomless mimosa brunch, one last (double) shot of tequila.  Tom, not amused.

9:31PM
Home sweet home.  ToddElly sweet ToddElly.

Elly sweet Elly.

Family, Friends, and Paradise

Before I tell the story of my 10-day adventure in Taiwan and Palau, I will frame it by telling about my mom and her family that has lived in Taiwan for over 500 years.  My mother fell in love with my dad, whose parents were from China.  With the political rift between Taiwan and China, many members of my mom’s family did not approve of her relationship with my dad.  She courageously followed her heart and married my dad anyway in 1982, and even more courageously moved away from her entire family and followed my dad to the States in 1983.

This is a picture of the entire side of my mom’s family in Taiwan circa 1989, including my mom, dad, sister, and me.  We are the 4 people furthest on the right.  My mother is the youngest of 5 children.  I am the youngest those children’s children, making me the baby of the family.  The second baby of the family is Kurt (kid with the basketball on the left) and recently got married in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.  This prompted my mom, dad, and me to travel to Taiwan to attend his wedding.  My sister couldn’t travel with us.  She had used her vacation days on a birthday trip to Hawaii and on trips with her boyfriend, Nick, who she met on our previous trip to Peru!  You can read about that here.  The parents and I conveniently turned our trip into an extended vacation by also traveling to Palau, a little (very little, see here) known Micronesian island in Southeast Asia.

And with that, here is the story of my adventures in Taiwan and Palau, told through my travel journal, with pictures and videos from my trusty Powershot, my iPhone, and my sister’s GoPro, and with some post-trip commentary.  Make sure to click the bolded, underlined links.  Get comfortable, travel vicariously through me.

3-4-15 10:12PM
Currently sitting in Korean Air’s first class lounge, where China Airline also sends their first class fliers.  We’re flying business but my dad flies frequently enough to earn first class privileges.  Thanks Dad!  Sipping on Johnnie Walker Black Label.  It’s not Macallan 18 but it’s scotch and it’s not bad.  We fly out of Taipei at 11:25PM.  14 hour flight, enough time for a good night’s sleep, a movie, and a decent amount of reading.

12:40PM
Located some thousands of feet over Hirara.  Is that in Japan?  Yes Okinawa, Japan.  We’ll land in about an hour.  Advil PM, The Giver, and a couple pretty good movies, Captain Phillips and Birdman, made this a relatively quick flight.  It’s 4:50AM 3/3/15 in Taipei right now.  1:50PM ¾/15 in LA.  That puts me…18 hours behind LA right now?  That can’t be right.  This clock aboard China Airlines can’t be right.  It’s the 5th of March not the 3rd in Taipei.  So that puts me 16 hours ahead of LA right now.  Thank you iPhone.

Coming through the headphones: Atlas Genius – If So. (click, listen while you read)

“Everybody’s faking like they can, it makes it alright
Tell me what you want to cause I don’t know the wrong from the right”
“And I’m just like the next one cause we’ll be walking lonely tonight
Lonely tonight…”

30 minutes till we touch down.  Taiwan, here I come.

3/5/15 7:34AM
We made it off the plane, to a bus, to a train station, and are currently on a high speed train to Chiayi, a city near our stay in Taiwan.  Breakfast was from a 7-11 at the train station.  My mom claims the 7-11′s in Taiwan are the best in the world.  And I now agree.  They have great food selection here but it’s hard to beat Hawaii 7-11 with their spam musubis.  Unless you price everything cheaper, turn every receipt into a lottery ticket, and sell hard liquor.  Rest of the 7-11′s in the US, y’all got some work to do.

9:24PM
Get lost while going for a run in Taiwan, check.
Get drunk, lose all your money in mahjong, check.
Very tired.  Early morning tomorrow.  Zzz.

3/6/15 1:37AM
My mom.  Her snoring.  UGHHH.

6:37AM
We’re on our way to Kaohsiung for the wedding.  Long day yesterday.  After getting into Tainan, we scooted to the fields where my mom and her family worked while growing up.  My mom’s dad passed when she was 9 after developing pneumonia in the hospital after a car accident.  The entire family worked in the fields to pick up the slack.

Got in a 10 mile run but got lost on the way back.  Luckily my family sent out a search party and found me running aimlessly on the road.  We went for lunch at a sushi spot, drank a ton of beer, and continued with cognac and mahjong after lunch.  I lost nearly 5000NT…$160!  1 US dollar = 31.65 New Taiwan dollar.  Yikes.  These guys are good.

3/7/15 8:35AM
Fuck. My. Life.  Left my camera on the taxi that took me to the train station.  I’ve done this way too many times.  I’m holding out hope that the taxi driver will return the camera to the hotel and it’ll find its way back to me.  Sigh.  Moving on.

Yesterday.  The wedding!  A traditional Taiwanese one.  In Taiwan, the groom and his groomsmen pick up and escort the bride to the reception.  During the drive, a younger relative (me!) tosses firecrackers out of the lead car to announce the wedding to the public.  When the men get to the bride’s house, they go through a series of tests given by the bridesmaids to deem the groom worthy of marrying the bride.  These tests were ridiculous and I wish I had more pictures but I was participating in most of them.  Our tests included…moving furniture, trying to finish a table of food in 30 seconds (bottles of Coke, a platter of sunflower seeds, a huge loaf of bread, ramen, and bananas…we failed), 88 push-ups amongst the 8 of us, and dancing Gangnam Style, ballet, and Asian pop.  The final test was a series of questions for my cousin about the bride and their relationship.  He was then finally allowed to see the bride.  Both of them sat in front of the bride’s parents and got the parents’ blessing for the marriage.  Very touching moment as the parents sent off their daughter.

The reception.  The entire side of my mom’s family was there.  Wow, do the children grow up fast.  Life moves fast.

Leave it to me to find the drinkers.  Good old rowdy family reunion with a lot of wine, especially between me and my 大表姐 (oldest female cousin), who I met for the first time outside of my infant years and is basically a female version of me.  It was so much fun.  Wish I had more time here to hang with the family.  What a different take on a wedding.  I like it and given the opportunity, I’d jump at having a second wedding here with this side of the family.

Nephews and niece.

大表姐 (oldest female cousin)

Currently on a high speed train again, this time to Taipei to see my good friends Ben and Quenton.  Should be a great two days with them.  Going to squeeze in a run tomorrow when Ben goes to work and hopefully not get lost this time.

Song at the moment: The Temper Trap – Love Lost.

“And if you flash your heart
I won’t deny it
I promise”

11:15AM
Made it!  To Shongshan where Ben lives, also where my parents moved to after getting married.  Ben should be here soon.  In the meantime, The Giver.  Good book.

3/8/15
Another long, fun day yesterday.  Ben and I met with Quenton and a couple of his friends for lunch.  These hole in the wall spots make amazing food.

Beef noodle stew.

Went to National Palace Museum (a museum of Chinese culture and history).  Went to a night market.  Oh gosh, what ridiculous games.  Sadly, we all lost.  Better luck next time.  Stayed out for drinks, lots of drinks.  Thank you Q for the Glenlivet 15.  Delicious.

Beautiful run along the river this morning after a nap to catch up on sleep and clear the alcohol from of my body.  About to hit the gym with Ben and go for one more night out with this Taipei crew.  Should be fun.

Palau tomorrow!

Shrimp fishing.  A hook at the end of the stick attached by string.  The goal: hook shrimp into your bucket without breaking your line.  Difficult with flailing shrimp and when shrimp pull each other back into the pond.  7 sticks for 100NT ($3.5), you eat what you catch.

Hammer the water balloon.  Video here of Quenton trying his luck.

The run began at Rainbow Bridge, a love themed part of the bike path, and went past basketball courts, baseball fields, dog parks, and some very nice scenery.

Nearly killed Ben with a circuit workout and 8-minute abs.

3/9/15 10:29AM
Just made it to the airport, 30 minutes early.  The parents should be here at 11.  It’s cold and rainy here in Taipei.  I’m ready for the beaches and warm waters of Palau.

12:000PM
Okay, now this is first class. China Airlines’ first class lounge in Taipei is on point.  Showers, sofas, great food, and fine alcohol.  My first ever taste of Johnnie Walker Blue Label…smooth and rich in flavor.  A bottle of this runs $200-300 and China Airline leaves it out, self-serve.  I’m in heaven.

One great reason why I love flying with my dad.

3:30PM
On the plane to Palau  The taxi driver returned my camera!!!

Coming through the headphones.  Anberlin – Autobahn (Acoustic).  This is a classic.  The acoustic version is even better than the original.

“And we’re racing to outrun the wind
It’s just me and you and you and me
So wild and so young, bright-eyed and free”

6:02PM
Just touched down.  Palau!

8:26PM
Ah, in bed at the hotel.  So much warmer here in Palau  We got in right after sundown and got a glimpse of the island.  It’s beautiful.  Can’t wait to see it during the day.

Done with The Giver and onto The Girl on the Train, the current New York Times Best Seller, fiction.  The Giver was good but the ending…eh, left me wanting more.

Internet access is spotty here.  How am I going to check how many likes I have on Instagram?  Really though, my thoughts always come clearer without the background noise of social media and the internet.  My dad, on the other hand, is struggling.

Lots planned for Palau.  Fishing, snorkeling, a trip to Jellyfish Lake, a dive at Blue Corner (considered by many the most beautiful dive in the world!), and lots of laying out by the beach.  Yes, yes, yes.

3/11/15 4:39PM
Palau is gorgeous.  There are hundreds of mushroom-shaped rock islands.  Rain picks up acidity as it runs through plant life and erodes the limestone at the base of the islands.  Almost looks like the islands are floating on water.   We spent most of today snorkeling in the turquoise blue, warm waters of Palau.  Giant clams, coral, marine life everywhere.  It’s a different world down there.  Stopped at Jellyfish Lake and wow, it was absolutely unreal.  There must be hundreds of thousands of jellyfish in the lake (actually 20 million!!!).  Their stingers are now vestigial structures as they’ve evolved in a lake with very few predators so there was no danger in touching and handling them.  The GoPro ran out of battery!  UGH!  We have to go back, Kate.  We have to go back!

Pops caved and bought a 10 day, 10 hour wifi pass for $20.  The internet here is as slow as the island is beautiful.

View from our 6th floor room.

Milky Way Lagoon.  The eroded limestone gathers as clay and is used as a beauty product.

5:13PM
Mom and Dad both playing Candy Crush right now.  Cute.

7:50PM
I’m sunburnt!  Gah!  My arms, my back, my face, my chest.  Got to take better care of myself and adhere to my mom’s strict application of 500 SPF sunblock every 5 minutes or it’ll be a painful rest of a vacation.

3/12/15 – sometime around 12:30PM
Made it out of Blue Corner.  Sharks, turtles, fish of every color.  The sharks were within 10 yards of us.  And we saw a shark eat another fish!  Great dive.

We’re spending the afternoon fishing and staying the night on a rock island.  Camping, Palau style.

Currently on one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever laid foot on. Fine, white sand, turquoise blue water, rock islands all around.  This is paradise.

The crew from right to left: yours truly, Mom, Dad, chef Bernie, assistant tour guide M (I only remember that his name starts with an M), captain Calisto, tour guide Ayong, and scuba leader Jeff.

M.M.  Ayong’s 9 year old son.  Future tour guide, somewhat one already.  Cute guy.  Big mouth and huge troublemaker.

6:36PM
Back from a long day at sea.  Our tour guide, Ayong, caught 7 or 8 fish.  I caught one and I’ll consider it a victory.  Fresh fish for dinner tonight.

This is how we fish.

This is what we catch.

This is what we eat.

8:46PM
Delicious food.  Our scuba leader set up coconut traps along rock walls, tied by vine, to lure land crabs.  Great tip for when I get onto Survivor.  Survivor 10 was held on these Rock Islands about 8 years ago.  I wonder who won.  Tom Westman.

Quite dark here.  I’m inside a mosquito net set up on a wooden platform.  This is where I sleep tonight.  Headlamp on.  This is how I’ll read and write tonight.  No shower, no brushing my teeth.  Feet are sandy, body salty and sticky, covered in sweat.  This isn’t even close to how bad it is on Survivor.  It’s a spectacular night sky.  Cloudless.  I wish I could capture this view to share.  I wish I could share this experience with everyone.  Carry them in my brain.

Still slightly rocking after spending all day out at sea.

Coming through the headphones right now: Filo & Peri – This Night.  Old school, feel-good trance.

This considered a small crab.  We let him go.

3/13/15 6:52AM
Beautiful morning from one of the rock islands in Palau.  We’re the only ones here.  More diving and snorkeling later today before going back to Koror and our hotel.  We fly out tomorrow night.  As always, I’m missing home, Elly, and my friends.  Eager to get back to training for my marathon.  Why can’t I bring them all here?

 

11:30AM
I swear I’m at a Survivor site.  Russell Hantz found an idol in one of these trees.  Ozzy swam in these waters and went on his unprecedented individual immunity idol streak.  There’s an immunity idol hidden somewhere.  I have to find it.

One last dive in the books at the German Channel.  The reef looked like its own town.  Different sized buildings occupied by all types of marine life.

Lunch time.  More fish from yesterday’s catch.  Then it’s one more trip to Jellyfish Lake.

Survivor-esque.

After lunch
There are more stars in our universe than grains of sand on earth.  Food for thought.  Astronomers predict we will detect intelligent life, species likely to be more advanced than ours, within our lifetime.  What a discovery that’ll be.  Imagine giving George Washington our current Constitution or handing Thomas Edison a MacBook and iPhone.  Henry Ford a Bentley.  That could be how it’s like when we make contact.

4:20PM
Our scuba leader ran into his friend who is a Budweiser distributer here.  Great person to be friends with.  Jellyfish Lake was just as breathtaking as the first time.  What is a vacation if I can’t share it with y’all?  On the way back to the city, Koror, we drove by the location of Survivor Palau.  Okay, so I wasn’t on the right island.  I would’ve found the hidden immunity idol if I was.

1 of over 20 million jellyfish in this lake.
A swim through Jellyfish Lake.

3/14/15 9:53AM
Ah, my thoughts, my book, and one last view of paradise.  Home in 24 hours.

7:25PM
I’m red as a tomato, thanks to this morning’s session in the sun.  I hope this fades into a golden brown by the time I get back to LA.  Currently onboard the plane from Koror to Taipei, waiting to take off.  Estimated flight time is 3 and a half hours.

Kavalan single malt whisky.  Never heard of it but I just put in an order for it.  Another perk of flying with Dad, free in-flight booze.

We spent some time in the hotel’s game room before checking out.  I beat my mom in table tennis!  I don’t remember ever beating her as a kid but I’m not sure if that’s just because I remember the frustration of defeat more readily than the winning.  She won the next 2 out of 3.  She’s lucky we didn’t play 5.

Plane’s taken off.  Officially left paradise.  Already homesick.  Vacation withdrawal hasn’t hit yet but will soon.  I miss Elly.  She and Lexi seem to be getting along as well as they did last time.  18 hours.  See you soon Ellybellybear.

Mom and Dad at table tennis.  Mom takes it by a landslide.  She’s good.

26-24 game 1 between Mom and me.  Intense game.  We play to 21, win by 2.

Father and son.  Game of pool.  We split the series, 1 game a piece.

Meanwhile, in California.  ❤

Sometime around 8:00PM
Flight attendant has a heavy hand.  A little spice to this Kalavan.  A glass of whisky, Chet Faker, pen and paper.  Cheers, here’s to creativity.

This whiskey needs just a touch of water to let out its flavor.  Honey, caramel, cocoa.  That’s all I taste.  I consider myself still a fairly amateur whisky drinker.  I’m eager to see what flavors are really in this Kalavan.

2nd double shot of Kalavan.  I love this flight attendant

From Kalavan’s website, the nose: “hints of honey, tropical fruits (mango in particular), pear drop, vanilla, coconuts and suggestions of chocolate”, and the palate “a hint of sweet mango juice with that spicy complexity and gentle warmth on a medium, oily and citrus finish”.  I got some of it right!

Paradise.  Without You.

3/15/15 12:21AM (Taipei time)
On the way back to LA.  Just about to take off.  10 hours 25 minutes away from home

3/14/15 2:14PM (LA time)
Jumped back a day.  5.5 hours till home.

3/14/15 10:09PM
Home sweet home.  Elly sweet Elly.

Adventures in Peru

My thoughts, my pictures, and my stories from a week in Peru.

The story of my adventures in Peru begins with my parents, who 3 years ago traveled to Peru and bravely hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.  For those who aren’t familiar with what this is, the Inca Trail is a strenuous 4 day hike covering 26 miles, going from an altitude of 9000 feet to 14000 and back down to 8000, ending at Machu Picchu, the most prominent site of the 15th century Inca civilization.  Hard for anyone and quite impressive for a married couple in their late 50’s.  My parents enjoyed their adventure so much they graciously paid for me and my sister to experience the same thing together.  I decided to keep a running log of my time in Peru to share with the few people interested in my life and to provide myself with something to look back at.  Here it is below, unfiltered, accompanied with pictures taken along the way, and with some post-trip commentary.

8/30/14 2:39PM
Just landed at Cusco.  Tipped a busboy $5.  $5 too much.  He wasn’t even affiliated with our hotel or travel agency.  He just read the sign from our driver, found a “Shana Wang”, transported our luggage, and earned a $5 tip.  Smart guy.  Good for him.  $5 lesson for me.  We’re on the way to the hotel.  The standard of living is quite lower here.  We’re all spoiled in the States.  It’s all relative.

4:58PM
Back to the hotel after having a beer and some food at the highest 100% Irish owned pub in the world, Patty’s Pub.  All the carbonated drinks here lack carbonation. Not sure why but I’ll find out.

9:35PM
” -everything is a mirror that reflects light and creates images of that light – and the world of illusion, the Dream, is just like smoke which doesn’t allow us to see what we really are.”
-The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

Well said.  We are all the same.

I found out why drinks are flat here.  The difference in bottle pressure and air pressure is greater at higher altitude.  Bigger change in air pressure = faster loss of carbonation.
-Another possible explanation, there might just be less carbonation in the drinks bottled in Peru.

8/31/14 11:45AM
I woke up 3 times last night to puke, off of just 2 drinks.  I have a hangover right now.  Amazing.  Fun fact my sister looked up.  1 drink is 1.5-3 times as potent at an altitude of 5000 feet…so at 11000 feet does that mean 1 drink is 3-6 times as potent?  Wow.

Pisco sours.  Pisco is the liquor of choice in Peru.  Smells like Tequila, tastes like a mix of vodka and gin.

Guinea pig for lunch!  No alcohol.  Gag.

9:57PM
All is packed.  Tomorrow our trek to Machu Picchu begins.  5:30AM is when the bus arrives.   I’m feeling slightly off.  My face is numb.  It might be the cold, it might be the altitude.  I hope I feel better once we get moving.  Guinea pig taste like chicken.  Not bad actually.  Time to rest.

One last thing.  There’s a “name of ex” in the other hiking group.  Probably just pure coincidence.

9/1/14 5:47AM
On the bus, about to depart and leave to begin our trek to Machu Picchu.  I just had the worst coffee in my life.  Not to self: keep to tea here in Peru.

5:56AM
¡Vamos a la playa!
-Our tour guide, Jose, jokingly referred to Machu Piccho as la playa, the beach, despite the fact that Peru has no beaches to speak of.  This became our little motto during our hikes.  Even the porters would sarcastically say it as they lugged our baggage along the Inca Trail.

8:10AM
We just finished breakfast.  Had some coca tea which made my face slightly numb and me slightly lightheaded.  That’s probably where my facial numbness is coming from.  I bought a bag of coca leaves for the hike.  2 soles, not even 1 dollar.  Cheap drugs.  Thumbs up.

7:45PM
First day is in the books.  Several things stand out…
-The hike is actually not as strenuous as expected, partially due to the fact that some members in our group hike at a slower pace.  Just the first day, tomorrow is supposed to be the grueling one.
-The food is amazing.  This is 5-star camping.  Food is made and served to us.  Our tents, extra clothes, and extra baggage are  carried by porters who carry twice what we do and get to camp in half the time it takes us.
-The night sky is so beautiful.  Very little light pollution.  You can see everything.  Different colored stars, shooting stars, the Milky Way.  So beautiful.

Looking forward to tomorrow.

Our mascot, Lomo the Llama, drunk.

9/21/14 8:27AM
Just got to the first resting point.  I hiked ahead with the porters.  Much more of an adequate pace.  I got to spend the hike chatting with the head porter, Martial.  48 years old I believe.  From a village in the mountains.  It’s amazing to me that many of the porters are well over 40.  There were a couple of em who were 70.  And they make their living doing 4-day, 26 mile hikes.  What a toll it must take on their bodies.  I wonder the incidence of lower back pain in their population.  A study on them would be interesting.

I wonder if I’m even at the right resting spot.  I should find out soon enough.  Elapsed time since my arrival nearly 10 minutes.  Our tour guide Jose, whose slightly addicted to coca leaves, informed us that the porters in the past held competitions to see who could navigate this hike the quickest sans luggage.  The fastest time was 3 hours 45 minutes for a 20 some mile trek.  I would be happy to run a marathon at that time.

Friends are here.  The resting spot was correct.  Elapsed time, 13:26.

9:53AM
Arrived at the lunch meet up point.  Finished the estimated 2 hour hike in 30 minutes.  That was grueling.  A lot of stairs.  Step-ups for days.  Slightly concerned about my sister who was having bouts of diarrhea.  I hope she’s okay but I know she wouldn’t me to stay behind to babysit her.

This is much more my idea of vacation.  Breathtaking treks with breathtaking views.  Bonding can come later and not at at the expense of exercise or alone time.

That was truly a great work out.  Great training for my half marathon in little over a month.  Especially at this altitude  I’m eager to see how well I do on my next run with my body acclimated to an altitude of 10,000 feet.

Elapsed time so far. ~10 minutes.  my guess is that this will be well over 30 minutes.

I’m turning to chewing coca leaves as I fatigue.  I’m really not sure how much the high from the coca leaves help, how much it’s the fact that it encourages nose breathing because I have something in my mouth, and how much a placebo effect comes into play.  A good debate over a glass of wine.  Not all so important, so long as it helps.  Useful to remember when it comes to treating patients.  I honestly don’t care if I feed my patient’s a load of bull, as long as they get better, I’m happy.

10:12AM, elapsed time 21:24.

Spending time away from the States at places with lower standards of living always reminds me that money is not need for nor does it equate to happiness.  I see happiness everywhere here and the villagers must make less than a couple thousand dollars annually.  The fact is though, many of us don’t want to live at a lower standard.  I like how I live.  However materialistic it is, the only change I want is to make more money so I can buy more things, travel to more places, and eventually provide my children with the same luxury.  So although money doesn’t equal happiness, money matters.  At least to me.

Friends are here.  Elapsed time: 36:07.

1:55PM: 4215 meters, 13829 feet above sea, Warmiwañusqa (got this from Wikipedia), Dead Woman’s Pass
Made it to Dead Woman’s Pass, the highest point of this 4 day hike.  I took this trek at a more leisurely pace for the first half, stayed in the back of the pack with my sister until she asked “Why are you going so slow?”, then left her and passed everyone, made it to the peak, first one up.  Passing, one of the best feelings when it comes to any type of race.  Not that this is at all a race or competition but I can’t help but enjoy passing and being first.  Me and the porters are starting to get to know each other as we spend more time together.  There’s a group of 17 of them, ranging from 30-70 years of age.  Once again, amazing work they do but the toll it takes on their bodies is apparent.

First other member of the group is here.  Elapsed time 7:48.  Signing out.

4:48PM

Ahhh, arrived at camp.  That.  Was.  Grueling.  After we made it to Dead Woman’s Pass, some of us decide to hike an extra 200 feet to reach 14,000 feet.  One of our group members, Nick, has a personal goal to reach 14,000 feet on all continents so we went along for the trip.  Great idea.   We went up some uncharted territory but had great views and great pictures.  I lost my $20 shades but it was a price worth paying.

The trek down was all down stairs.  A different type of tiring but tiring nonetheless.

Ready for a nap.

8:02PM
The most physically challenging 2 days of my life so far.  The next few days should be easier but I expect this to be the most difficult trek I will take in a while.  A great experience but there’s nothing more I’m looking forward to now than my bed, my Elly, and a Sunday of football.

Bed time

9/3/14 6:23AM
Beautiful mountain views this morning.  The porters now call me Andrecito.  Me gusto.  Long trek today, longest of the 4 days here.

8:27AM
Another beautiful peak.  All downhill from here.

10:51AM
Arrived at our lunch spot,   It was a much easier morning today.  It smells so delicious.  Can’t wait to eat.

We saw an Inca site today, Sayacmarca.  The Incas occupied this area in the 1400’s, stayed for nearly a century.  I’m not sure how they fell.  They built amazingly sturdy stone buildings and stone trails, the same ones we’re walking on.  We saw a sacrificial altar at Sayacmarca where the Incas sacrificed their most beautiful women, dressed them in the most beautiful clothing, accessorized in the most expensive jewelry and placed them with valued goods including crops, seashells, silver, and gold.  All to the gods in hope of rain and sun.
-The Inca Empire lasted from the mid 1400’s to the mid 1500’s.  They fell to the Spaniards in 1533 but prior to this, many of the Inca sites had already been abandoned due to an inadequate supply of water.

1:44PM
Llamas!

2:12PM
Phuyupatamarca

6:07PM
Back at camp.  Final day of camping.  Beautiful Inca sites today.  Machu Picchu, the big one, is tomorrow.  A couple thoughts before heading to evening snack.
-My right lateral knee pain came today after hours of going down stairs.  Just a bit.  I thought this hike would be a nice break for the knee.  Need to look more into this.
-Bob Sr., 71, and Bob Jr., 34, share a great relationship.  Sr. struggles through every hike in good spirits and Jr. is there by him nearly every step of the way and there to help him after the hikes when his body aches.  Truly a great son and very inspiring.
-Mikaela, 24 and her mother, Deb, spend half the time arguing and the other half of the time complaining.  Annoying but also entertaining.
-Got the chance to treat Bob Sr. for cramps in his left hip adductors, attributed it to saphenous nerve irritation stemming from a quadruple heart bypass 4 years which used part of the saphenous vein, thus causing associated nerve irritation.  Also got the chance to help Deb with lateral hip pain attributed to IT band irritation.  Love it, love anatomy, love physical therapy.

Off to food!

Intipata

8:52PM
Finished dinner.  Got the chance to give the head porter Martial his portion of the tip.  Got the chance to put in an extra $20 for him, to tell the crew about him being 48 with a 32 year old son who works in electronics, about how he’s from one of the villages in the mountains, works as a porter to support his family, and enjoys playing soccer in his free time.  Good guy and I’m glad to be able to help him out.  3:30 call time tomorrow.  Quite early.  Machu Picchu should be beautiful.

9/4/14 5:58AM
Rain, rain, go away.  Our trek to Machu Picchu put on hold due to severe rain with some hail.  Thank god for ponchos and rainproof shoes.  We might need to make this trip through this storm if it doesn’t pass.

Snuck a picture in with this llama during the storm!

8:00AM

4 days of hiking and we arrive at the Sun Gate with the first view of Machu Picchu.  People talk about hiking to Machu Picchu.  I feel like this detracts from everything encountered along the way including the handful of other Inca sites, the mountains the Inca’s worshipped, the stone trails they walked on, the day long hikes they had to go on traveling from site to site.  Machu Picchu by itself means so much less than all of this.

The journey is the destination.

7:43PM
30 year olds teaching me how to be young again.

9/5/14 12:01AM
What an amazing time.  Had dinner with the crew, wandered around, met travelers from Texas and Chile (Latinas!), and had a ton of drinks.  Lots of drunken Jenga and drunken selfies.  Reminder to self: ALWAYS choose to stay out later if possible.  Great last night in Peru.  Glad I got my Latina fix in.  Ready to go home.

Replica Inca site out of Jenga blocks.

7:13AM
I’m not sure what it is I’m having such vivid dreams.  Last night was the second time by dream got flooded because of my urge to urinate.  That’s Inception status there.  Slightly hungover.  A CamelBak is the best hunover bedside water source ever.  I slept with the thing in my mouth like a pacifier in a baby’s.  Train back to Cusco in an hour.  Souvies still to buy including a refrigerator magnet, bottles of Pisco, yarn, and a llama.

PT thought at the moment before packing to leave for the train.
“Every day, out-of-shape people attempt to regain fitness, lose weight, and become more active.  They assume if they just move more, they will start to move well. Unfortunately, they well just get better at moving poorly for longer periods of time or with larger amounts of weight or at greater speeds.”
-Gray Cook, Movement

6:09PM
At the Cusco airport, 35 minutes from boarding my flight to Lima.  After a 5 hour layover in Lima I’ll be on my back home on a 9 hour flight.  What a great week in Peru but no matter the vacation, there is always just one thought on my mind by the end of it: can’t wait to get home.  A short list of some of things I miss includes:
-The polluted LA air.  Still 10 fold better than the nauseous smell of gasoline in Peruvian air.
-My car.  The sun.  Can I drive with my top down in the LA sun already?
-American football
-Elly

14 hours from landing.  Counting down.

A recap of the past couple days. The rain let up during our hike to Machu Picchu but came again once we got there.  Machu Picchu is a much larger Inca site than the rest of the sites and in much better condition partially because the Spaniards never found it when they conquered the Incas and partially due to the restoration efforts of the Peruvians today.  Lots to see there.  Beautiful.

We spent a night in Aguas Calientes.  What a tourist trap that town is.  We went to 4 bars/restaurants and didn’t get an honest bill from any of them.   Stayed out till midnight, impressive considering the fact that we woke up at 3:30AM to hike.  Kudos to my 30 year old friends for teaching me the meaning of youth.  Met Latinas, Chileans to be exact.  Jenga y cervezas.  Un bueno noche.  Took a train, took a bus back to Cusco.  I hate windy roads and the smell of gasoline.  Quick ways to feeling nauseous.  Great pizza back at Cusco.  Souvie shopping in the rain.  Goodbye to new friends.  And currently awaiting a reunion with home.

10:34PM

Of course, this trip wouldn’t be complete without a lost wallet.  Womp womp.  Here at Lima, I found out I likely left my wallet in the cab on my way to the Cusco airport.  Bad habits. My next attempt at responsibility will include a wallet and chain.  Luckily I had just a driver’s license, a credit card, and no more than $60 in cash but this problem is getting out of hand.

Jenga con cervezas y Latinas.  Complete!  Very proud of my work.  Got it done in a day’s work and it’s beautiful.  Some grammatical editing left, mostly on the Spanish end, but for the most part, done!

http://itsondre.tumblr.com/post/96836011114/jenga-cervezas-latinas

TV also to be delivered Saturday, tomorrow, between 2-6PM.  Yes!  Sunday football.  Home in T-minus 12 hours.  All is good.

9/6/14 7:45AM
Home sweet home.